Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| boiling and bacillus spores. | 2004 | 15515252 | |
| correlation of mass spectrometry identified bacterial biomarkers from a fielded pyrolysis-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry biodetector with the microbiological gram stain classification scheme. | a pyrolysis-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (py-gc-ims) briefcase system has been shown to detect and classify deliberately released bioaerosols in outdoor field scenarios. the bioaerosols included gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, ms-2 coliphage virus, and ovalbumin protein species. however, the origin and structural identities of the pyrolysate peaks in the gc-ims data space, their microbiological information content, and taxonomic importance with respect to biodetection h ... | 2004 | 15516146 |
| the bcr1 dna repeat element is specific to the bacillus cereus group and exhibits mobile element characteristics. | bacillus cereus strains atcc 10987 and atcc 14579 harbor an approximately 155-bp repeated element, bcr1, which is conserved in b. cereus, b. anthracis, b. thuringiensis, and b. mycoides but not in b. subtilis and b. licheniformis. in this study, we show by southern blot hybridizations that bcr1 is present in all 54 b. cereus group strains tested but absent in 11 bacillus strains outside the group, suggesting that bcr1 may be specific and ubiquitous to the b. cereus group. by comparative analysis ... | 2004 | 15516586 |
| [anthrax--continuous threat to humans and animals]. | gram-positive, spore-forming, aerobic bacterium bacillus anthracis is an etiological agent of anthrax a disease very dangerous to humans and all warm-blooded animals. the spore forms are markedly resistant to unfavourable environmental extremes of heat, cold, desiccation, chemicals, irradiation etc. the vegetative forms characterised virulence factors: the antiphagocytic poly-gamma-d-polipeptide capsule and three proteins, edema factor (ef), lethal factor (lf) and protective antigen (pa). anthra ... | 2004 | 15517814 |
| mass spectrometry provides accurate characterization of two genetic marker types in bacillus anthracis. | epidemiological and forensic analyses of bioterrorism events involving bacillus anthracis could be improved if both variable number tandem repeats (vntrs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) could be combined on a single analysis platform. here we present the use of electrospray ionization fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (esi-fticr-ms) to characterize 24 alleles from 6 vntr loci and 11 alleles from 7 snp loci in b. anthracis. the results obtained with esi-fticr ... | 2004 | 15517976 |
| organism identification using a genome sequence-independent universal microarray probe set. | there has been increasing interest and efforts devoted to developing biosensor technologies for identifying pathogens, particularly in the biothreat area. in this study, a universal set of short 12- and 13-mer oligonucleotide probes was derived independently of a priori genomic sequence information and used to generate unique species-dependent genomic hybridization signatures. the probe set sequences were algorithmically generated to be maximally distant in sequence space and not dependent on th ... | 2004 | 15517977 |
| [anthrax as a bioweapon]. | the risk of biological and chemical terrorism is growing according to availability of modern biotechnologies and financial resources. the most potent biological weapon mentioned in the last decade is anthrax. the number of naturally acquired infections in humans is constantly reduced, however endemic areas are located in south and middle americas, south europe, asia and africa. in any case of infection laboratory confirmation is indicated. primary basic testing is available in all microbiology l ... | 2004 | 15518328 |
| anthrax capsule vaccine protects against experimental infection. | efficacy of a poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid anthrax capsule vaccine was assessed in a mouse model of infection. capsule by itself was protective against lethal challenge with a toxin(-), capsule(+) bacillus anthracis strain. conjugation of capsule to bovine serum albumin resulted in enhanced igg anti-capsule antibodies measured by elisa, but completely abrogated the protection. the protective unconjugated capsule vaccine elicited significantly higher igm titers and opsonic activity than did the non ... | 2004 | 15519706 |
| oligonucleotide microarray for identification of bacillus anthracis based on intergenic transcribed spacers in ribosomal dna. | we developed a dna microarray for identification of bacillus anthracis and other phylogenetic groupings within the "bacillus cereus group". nucleotide sequences of 16s-23s ribosomal dna internal transcribed spacers containing genes for trna(ile) from 52 b. anthracis strains were found to be identical to sequences from seven strains published previously and different from all other bacteria. when 42 oligonucleotide probes targeting polymorphic sites were immobilized on glass slides and hybridized ... | 2004 | 15522510 |
| virulence signatures: microarray-based approaches to discovery and analysis. | rapid, accurate, and sensitive detection of biothreat agents requires a broad-spectrum assay capable of discriminating between closely related microbial or viral pathogens. moreover, in cases where a biological agent release has been identified, forensic analysis demands detailed genetic signature data for accurate strain identification and attribution. to date, nucleic acid sequences have provided the most robust and phylogentically illuminating signature information. nucleic acid signature seq ... | 2004 | 15522585 |
| modeling of seb-induced host gene expression to correlate in vitro to in vivo responses. | detection of exposure to biological threat agents has relied on ever more sensitive methods for pathogen identification, but that usually requires pathogen proliferation to dangerous, near untreatable levels. recent events have demonstrated that assessing exposure to a biological threat agent well in advance of onset of illness or at various stages post-exposure is invaluable among the diagnostic options. there is an urgent need for better diagnostic tools that will be sensitive, rapid, and unam ... | 2004 | 15522586 |
| identification and characterization of bacillus anthracis by multiplex pcr on dna chip. | bacillus anthracis can be identified by detecting virulence factor genes located on two plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2. combining multiplex pcr with arrayed anchored primer pcr and biotin-avidin alkaline phosphatase indicator system, we developed a qualitative dna chip method for characterization of b. anthracis, and simultaneous confirmation of the species identity independent of plasmid contents. the assay amplifies pag gene (in pxo1), cap gene (in pxo2) and ba813 gene (a b. anthracis specific chromo ... | 2004 | 15522596 |
| us judge halts compulsory anthrax vaccination for soldiers. | 2004 | 15528600 | |
| large-scale structural changes accompany binding of lethal factor to anthrax protective antigen: a cryo-electron microscopic study. | anthrax toxin (at), secreted by bacillus anthracis, is a three-protein cocktail of lethal factor (lf, 90 kda), edema factor (ef, 89 kda), and the protective antigen (pa, 83 kda). steps in anthrax toxicity involve (1) binding of ligand (ef/lf) to a heptamer of pa63 (pa63h) generated after n-terminal proteolytic cleavage of pa and, (2) following endocytosis of the complex, translocation of the ligand into the cytosol by an as yet unknown mechanism. the pa63h.lf complex was directly visualized from ... | 2004 | 15530370 |
| media coverage of anthrax vaccination refusal by australian defence force personnel. | during february 2003 a number of australian sailors were returned home from their deployment to the persian gulf after refusing anthrax vaccination. this paper examines the media coverage of this episode as a case study in how controversies about vaccine safety escalate. | 2004 | 15530688 |
| health effects of anthrax vaccination in the canadian forces. | the objective of this study was to determine whether anthrax vaccine resulted in adverse health effects in canadian forces members 8 months after vaccination. | 2004 | 15532351 |
| acid-induced unfolding of the amino-terminal domains of the lethal and edema factors of anthrax toxin. | the two enzymatic components of anthrax toxin, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef), are transported to the cytosol of mammalian cells by the third component, protective antigen (pa). a heptameric form of pa binds lf and/or ef and, under the acidic conditions encountered in endosomes, generates a membrane-spanning pore that is thought to serve as a passageway for these enzymes to enter the cytosol. the pore contains a 14-stranded transmembrane beta-barrel that is too narrow to accommodate a ... | 2004 | 15533442 |
| validation of an anti-pa-elisa for the potency testing of anthrax vaccine in mice. | the potency test for the anthrax vaccine currently licensed for human use in the united states (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) involves the protection of actively immunized guinea pigs from a lethal challenge with a virulent strain of bacillus anthracis. lethal challenge tests entail the use of specialized containment facilities for the safe and secure handling of the challenge strain. this potential difficulty, plus humane considerations, have prompted us to investigate non-lethal, alternative immun ... | 2004 | 15536047 |
| development of anthrax dna vaccines. | over 120 years ago, pasteur and greenfield developed an in vitro procedure for producing a live-attenuated bacillus anthracis bacterial culture capable of protecting livestock from anthrax disease. since then, anthrax has become one of the best characterized bacterial pathogens with regard to mechanism of toxicity and vaccine development. most developments have used live-attenuated strains, bacterial supernatants or protein subunit approaches. recently, novel plasmid dna (pdna) approaches to a s ... | 2004 | 15537052 |
| [threat or creation of panic? disease agents as terror weapons]. | 2004 | 15540528 | |
| synthesis and assembly of anthrax lethal factor-cholera toxin b-subunit fusion protein in transgenic potato. | a dna encoding the 27-kda domain i of anthrax lethal factor protein (lf), was linked to the carboxyl terminus of the cholera toxin b-subunit (ctb-lf). the ctb-lf fusion gene was transferred into solanum tuberosum cells by agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated in vivo transformation methods and antibiotic-resistant plants were regenerated. the ctb-lf fusion gene was detected in transformed potato leaf genomic dna by polymerase chain reaction (pcr)-mediated dna amplification. immunoblot analysis with ... | 2004 | 15542917 |
| population structure and evolution of the bacillus cereus group. | representative strains of the bacillus cereus group of bacteria, including bacillus anthracis (11 isolates), b. cereus (38 isolates), bacillus mycoides (1 isolate), bacillus thuringiensis (53 isolates from 17 serovars), and bacillus weihenstephanensis (2 isolates) were assigned to 59 sequence types (sts) derived from the nucleotide sequences of seven alleles, glpf, gmk, ilvd, pta, pur, pyca, and tpi. comparisons of the maximum likelihood (ml) tree of the concatenated sequences with individual ge ... | 2004 | 15547268 |
| evidence that translocation of anthrax toxin's lethal factor is initiated by entry of its n terminus into the protective antigen channel. | entry of the enzymatic components of anthrax toxin [lethal factor (lf) and edema factor] into the cytosol of mammalian cells depends on the ability of the activated protective antigen (pa63) component to form a channel (pore) in the membrane of an acidic intracellular compartment. to investigate the mechanism of translocation, we characterized n-terminally truncated forms of the pa63-binding domain of lf (lfn). deleting 27 or 36 residues strongly inhibited acid-triggered translocation of lfn acr ... | 2004 | 15548616 |
| anthrax toxins. | bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, secretes three polypeptides that assemble into toxic complexes on the cell surfaces of the host it infects. one of these polypeptides, protective antigen (pa), binds to the integrin-like domains of ubiquitously expressed membrane proteins of mammalian cells. pa is then cleaved by membrane endoproteases of the furin family. cleaved pa molecules assemble into heptamers, which can then associate with the two other secreted polypeptides: edema fa ... | 2004 | 15549606 |
| combining the benefits of decision science and financial analysis in public health management: a county-specific budgeting and planning model. | state public health agencies are charged with providing and overseeing the management of basic public health services on a population-wide basis. these activities have a re-emphasized focus as a result of the events of september 11, 2001, the subsequent anthrax events, and the continuing importance placed on bioterrorism preparedness, west nile virus, and emerging infectious diseases (eg, monkeypox, sars). this has added to the tension that exists in budgeting and planning, given the diverse con ... | 2004 | 15552764 |
| [considerations on the evolution of the concept of zoonoses]. | the existence of diseases common to humans and animals has been known since the beginning of history. the disease transmission from animals to people was first observed on rabies ("the mother of all zoonoses") and later on in occupational diseases (anthrax, glanders, "mange"); in time, also certain food-borne infections were included in this category. the microbiological era has first brought along the concept of infection, then that of zoonoses, which has extended and now numbers some 200 infec ... | 2004 | 15554545 |
| expanded interaction fingerprint method for analyzing ligand binding modes in docking and structure-based drug design. | an expanded interaction fingerprint method has been developed for analyzing the binding modes of ligands in docking and structure-based design methods. taking the basic premise of representing a ligand in terms of a binary string that denotes its interactions with a target protein, we have expanded the method to include additional interaction-specific information. by considering the hydrogen-bonding strength and/or accessibility of the hydrogen bonding groups within a binding site as well as the ... | 2004 | 15554663 |
| rapid profiling of the infection of bacillus anthracis on human macrophages using seldi-tof mass spectroscopy. | anthrax is an infectious disease caused by toxigenic strains of the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis, which is mainly present in the environment in the form of highly resistant spores. in order to elucidate a surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (seldi-tof) mass spectroscopy analysis to profile different expressed proteins when b. anthracis spores are infected in human macrophages, we analyzed human macrophage cytosolic fractions for the infection of b. anthracis ... | 2004 | 15555558 |
| adaptation of the endogenous salmonella enterica serovar typhi clya-encoded hemolysin for antigen export enhances the immunogenicity of anthrax protective antigen domain 4 expressed by the attenuated live-vector vaccine strain cvd 908-htra. | bacterial live-vector vaccines aim to deliver foreign antigens to the immune system and induce protective immune responses, and surface-expressed or secreted antigens are generally more immunogenic than cytoplasmic constructs. we hypothesize that an optimum expression system will use an endogenous export system to avoid the need for large amounts of heterologous dna encoding additional proteins. here we describe the cryptic chromosomally encoded 34-kda cytolysin a hemolysin of salmonella enteric ... | 2004 | 15557633 |
| anthrax lethal toxin: a weapon of multisystem destruction. | lethal toxin (lt) is a major virulence factor secreted by anthrax bacteria. it is composed of two proteins, pa (protective antigen) and lf (lethal factor). pa transports the lf inside the cell, where lf, a zinc-dependent metalloprotease cleaves the mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (mapkk) enzymes of the mitogen activated protein kinase (mapk) signaling pathway, thereby impairing their function. this disruption of the mapk pathway, which serves essential functions such as proliferation, su ... | 2004 | 15558214 |
| functional cloning of bacillus anthracis dihydrofolate reductase and confirmation of natural resistance to trimethoprim. | bacillus anthracis is reported to be naturally resistant to trimethoprim (tmp), a drug that inhibits dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr), a key enzyme in the folate pathway. a microdilution broth assay established that the mic of tmp for b. anthracis sterne is >2,048 but < or =4,096 microg/ml. a putative dhfr sequence was amplified from b. anthracis sterne genomic dna. the pcr product was cloned into the invitrogen pcrt7/ct-topo vector, followed by transformation into escherichia coli top10f' chemica ... | 2004 | 15561838 |
| beta-lactamase gene expression in a penicillin-resistant bacillus anthracis strain. | expression of the bla1 and bla2 genes in an archetypal bacillus anthracis strain is insufficient for penicillin resistance. in a penicillin-resistant clinical isolate, both genes are highly transcribed, but bla1 is the major contributor to high-level resistance to ampicillin. differential expression of the bla genes is dependent upon strain background. | 2004 | 15561870 |
| est-based genome-wide gene inactivation identifies arap3 as a host protein affecting cellular susceptibility to anthrax toxin. | the lethality of infection by bacillus anthracis is largely due to its plasmid-encoded toxins, which consist of a carrier protein, the protective antigen (pa), in combination with either the lethal-factor or edema-factor moiety. during b. anthracis infections, pa secreted by bacteria binds to membrane receptors of susceptible cells, is cleaved proteolytically, attaches to lethal factor or edema factor, undergoes oligomerization and internalization, and transports its toxin partners to acidic end ... | 2004 | 15569923 |
| [susceptibility of irradiated animals to extremely dangerous pathogens (literature review)]. | the review is dedicated to the susceptibility of irradiated animals anthrax, tularemia and other extremely dangerous infection diseases. live vaccine strains application in irradiated animals and antibacterial drugs efficiency under conditions of combined effects of radiological and biological agents are reviewed. as a conclusion the list of unsolved research problems is proposed. | 2004 | 15571042 |
| therapy of other bacterial infections. | cutaneous bacterial disease continues to account for a significant proportion of clinical visits. the continuing emergence of strains that are resistant to available antibacterial agents creates a challenge for dermatologists, who need to keep abreast of current treatment strategies. in this article, antibacterial regimens are presented for skin infections caused by organisms such as staphylococcus, streptococcus, pseudomonas, neisseria, haemophilus ducreyi, treponema pallidum, bacillus anthraci ... | 2004 | 15571499 |
| inorganic polyphosphate in bacillus cereus: motility, biofilm formation, and sporulation. | chains of inorganic polyphosphate (poly-p) with hundreds of p(i) residues linked by phosphoanhydride bonds, as in atp, are found in every bacterial, fungal, plant, and animal cell, in which they perform various functions. in the spore-forming bacillus cereus, we have identified three principal enzymes and genes involved in the metabolism of poly-p, namely, (i) poly-p kinase (ppk), which synthesizes poly-p reversibly from atp, (ii) exopolyphosphatase (ppx), which hydrolyzes poly-p to p(i), and (i ... | 2004 | 15572452 |
| [earthworm feces-induced systemic resistance of cucumber against anthracnose]. | pot experiment showed that mixing earthworm feces into soil induced a significantly lower (p < 0.05) cucumber anthracnose than mixing peat, but had no significant difference (p > 0.05) with the treatment of system acquired resistance. the activities of polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in cucumber leaves treated with and without pathogen were increased in different degrees by mixing earthworm feces, compared with by mixing peat. all these suggested that mixing with e ... | 2004 | 15573988 |
| evaluation of the biological sampling kit (biskit) for large-area surface sampling. | current surface sampling methods for microbial contaminants are designed to sample small areas and utilize culture analysis. the total number of microbes recovered is low because a small area is sampled, making detection of a potential pathogen more difficult. furthermore, sampling of small areas requires a greater number of samples to be collected, which delays the reporting of results, taxes laboratory resources and staffing, and increases analysis costs. a new biological surface sampling meth ... | 2004 | 15574898 |
| production of biologically active bacillus anthracis edema factor in escherichia coli. | anthrax is caused by the gram-positive spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. the anthrax toxin consists of three proteins, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef). pa facilitates the translocation of lf and ef into the cytosol of mammalian cells. lf is thought to be a zinc-dependent metalloprotease that results in death. ef is a calmodulin- and calcium-dependent adenylate cyclase that causes edema upon entrance into the cytosol by elevating the camp levels in cel ... | 2004 | 15575695 |
| rickettsialpox: report of three cases and a review. | rickettsialpox is a rare mite-borne rickettsiosis that is encountered in urban populations in the eastern united states and throughout the world. it is characterized clinically by an eschar, fever, and a papulovesicular eruption. both of these cutaneous manifestations may be mimicked by infectious diseases that have been designated as bioterrorist agents by the united states centers for diseases control and prevention: the former by anthrax, and the latter by smallpox. it is thus important for c ... | 2004 | 15577753 |
| screening for inhalational anthrax due to bioterrorism: evaluating proposed screening protocols. | eleven known cases of bioterrorism-related inhalational anthrax (ia) were treated in the united states during 2001. we retrospectively compared 2 methods that have been proposed to screen for ia. the 2 screening protocols for ia were applied to the emergency department charts of patients who presented with possible signs or symptoms of ia at inova fairfax hospital (falls church, virginia) from 20 october 2001 through 3 november 2001. the mayer criteria would have screened 4 patients (0.4%; 95% c ... | 2004 | 15578409 |
| real-time pcr assay for a unique chromosomal sequence of bacillus anthracis. | real-time pcr has become an important method for the rapid identification of bacillus anthracis since the 2001 anthrax mailings. most real-time pcr assays for b. anthracis have been developed to detect virulence genes located on the pxo1 and pxo2 plasmids. in contrast, only two published chromosomal targets exist, the rpob gene and the gyra gene. in the present study, subtraction-hybridization with a plasmid-cured b. anthracis tester strain and a bacillus cereus driver was used to find a unique ... | 2004 | 15583318 |
| [vaccination strategies for anthrax prevention]. | apart from live spore vaccines with a certain amount of residual virulence for various animal species, there are two acellular protein vaccines for immunoprophylaxis against anthrax in humans. for ethical reasons there are no experimental data available on the efficacy and duration of the immunity they induce in men. their efficacy was evaluated in laboratory animals, mainly rabbits and rhesus monkeys. furthermore, it is well known that these vaccines elicit only partial protection in guinea pig ... | 2004 | 15584433 |
| [indoor air quality and occupational health, past and present]. | the expression "indoor pollution" of residential, office and public buildings appeared for the first time in western societies toward the end of the '60s to indicate a complex phenomenon as important to public health as that of the "outdoor air pollution" or even more so. the demonstration of the toxic effects of passive smoking, radon, and other chemical and biological pollutants present in office and residential environments has prompted a wide spectrum of research into health risks, has led t ... | 2004 | 15584445 |
| anthrax molecular epidemiology and forensics: using the appropriate marker for different evolutionary scales. | precise identification of bacillus anthracis isolates has aided forensic and epidemiological analyses of natural anthrax cases, bioterrorism acts and industrial scale accidents by state-sponsored bioweapons programs. because there is little molecular variation among b. anthracis isolates, identifying and using rare variation is crucial for precise strain identification. we think that mutation is the primary diversifying force in a clonal, recently emerged pathogen, such as b. anthracis, since mu ... | 2004 | 15450200 |
| characterization and applications of catacleave probe in real-time detection assays. | cycling probe technology (cpt), which utilizes a chimeric dna-rna-dna probe and rnase h, is a rapid, isothermal probe amplification system for the detection of target dna. upon hybridization of the probe to its target dna, rnase h cleaves the rna portion of the dna/rna hybrid. utilizing cpt, we designed a catalytically cleavable fluorescence probe (catacleave probe) containing two internal fluorophores. fluorescence intensity of the probe itself was weak due to förster resonance energy transfer. ... | 2004 | 15450799 |
| the pitfalls of bioterrorism preparedness: the anthrax and smallpox experiences. | bioterrorism preparedness programs have contributed to death, illness, and waste of public health resources without evidence of benefit. several deaths and many serious illnesses have resulted from the smallpox vaccination program; yet there is no clear evidence that a threat of smallpox exposure ever existed. the anthrax spores released in 2001 have been linked to secret us military laboratories-the resultant illnesses and deaths might not have occurred if those laboratories were not in operati ... | 2004 | 15451727 |
| evaluation of an anti-rpa igg elisa for measuring the antibody response in mice. | a recombinant protective antigen (rpa)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was developed to measure the serological response of female a/j mice after inoculation with the new rpa-based anthrax vaccine. several fundamental parameters of the elisa were evaluated: specificity, precision, accuracy, linearity, and stability. experimental results suggested that the quantitative anti-rpa igg elisa could be used to measure antibody levels in female a/j mice and may be useful as a potency ass ... | 2004 | 15454183 |
| respiratory protection against bioaerosols: literature review and research needs. | research on respiratory protection against biologic agents is important to address major concerns such as occupational safety and terrorist attack. this review describes the literature on respiratory protection against bioaerosols and identifies research gaps. respiratory protection is a complex field involving a number of factors, such as the efficiency of respirator filter material; face-piece fitting; and maintenance, storage, and reuse of respirators. several studies used nonpathogenic micro ... | 2004 | 15454893 |
| prevalence of presumptive bacillus anthracis in the human population examined by nasal swabs. | routine cultures may reveal presumptive bacillus anthracis microorganisms in human samples. our study of 1336 individuals showed the probability of encountering presumptively positive cultures using routine microbiologic examination was approximately 0.4% (5 individuals) when nasal swabs were examined for the following characteristics indicative of bacillus anthracis : nonhemolytic ground-glass colonies retaining their shape when manipulated, nonmotile in testing media, and microscopically revea ... | 2004 | 15454894 |
| identification and biochemical characterization of two novel collagen binding mscramms of bacillus anthracis. | cell wall-anchored proteins play critical roles in the pathogenesis of infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. through the analysis of the genome of bacillus anthracis ames strain, we identified two novel putative cell wall-anchored proteins, ba0871 and ba5258, which have sequence homology to cna, a cell wall-anchored collagen adhesin of staphylococcus aureus. the two proteins have similar domain organization to that of cna, with typical signal peptide sequences, a non-repetitive a region f ... | 2004 | 15456768 |
| the use of a model of in vivo macrophage depletion to study the role of macrophages during infection with bacillus anthracis spores. | the pathogenesis of infection by bacillus anthracis has been the subject of many investigations, but remains incompletely understood. it has been shown that b. anthracis spores germinate in macrophages and perhaps require this intracellular niche to germinate in vivo before outgrowth of the vegetative organism. however, it has also been reported that macrophages are sporicidal in vitro. in our in vivo model, macrophages were depleted from mice by either silica treatment or treatment with liposom ... | 2004 | 15458777 |
| stable isotope ratios as a tool in microbial forensics--part 2. isotopic variation among different growth media as a tool for sourcing origins of bacterial cells or spores. | since the anthrax attacks of 2001 the need for methods to trace the origins of microbial agents has become urgent. the stable isotope ratios of bacteria record information from both the nutrients and the water used to make their culture media and could potentially be used to provide information about their growth environment. we present a survey of carbon (c), nitrogen (n), and hydrogen (h) stable isotope ratios in 516 samples of bacteriological culture media. the observed variation was consiste ... | 2004 | 15461096 |
| dna vaccines against anthrax. | dna vaccination is vaccination at its simplest. due to renewed interest in vaccination against anthrax and other biothreat agents, a genetic immunisation approach offers attractive possibilities for rapid, responsive vaccine development. dna vaccination against anthrax is an active area of research showing promising results at present, which in the short-term and in the future could form the basis for new advances in multi-agent vaccine development. the anthrax 'model' constitutes an important e ... | 2004 | 15461577 |
| involvement of domain ii in toxicity of anthrax lethal factor. | anthrax lethal factor (lf) is a zn2+ -metalloprotease that cleaves and inactivates mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (meks). we have used site-directed mutagenesis to identify a cluster of residues in domain ii of lf that lie outside the active site and are required for cellular proteolytic activity toward meks. alanine substituted for leu293, lys294, leu514, asn516, or arg491 caused a 10-50-fold reduction in lf toxicity. further, whereas pairwise substitution of alanine for leu514 and ei ... | 2004 | 15465830 |
| quorum quenching: enzymatic disruption of n-acylhomoserine lactone-mediated bacterial communication in burkholderia thailandensis. | many species of gram-negative bacteria communicate by synthesizing, secreting, and responding to n-acylhomoserine lactones (ahls), a mechanism termed quorum sensing. several investigations have characterized numerous ahl-degrading enzymes (aiia lactonases) encoded by environmental isolates of bacillus spp. the burkholderia thailandensis quorum system is comprised of at least three ahl synthases (ahss) and five transcriptional regulators belonging to the luxir class of proteins. expression of the ... | 2004 | 15466564 |
| taking the sting out of the anthrax vaccine. | 2004 | 15467819 | |
| comparative analysis of the schleicher and schuell isocode stix dna isolation device and the qiagen qiaamp dna mini kit. | efficient, rapid, and reproducible procedures for isolating high-quality dna before pcr gene amplification are essential for the diagnostic and molecular identification of pathogenic bacteria. this study evaluated the qiagen qiaamp dna mini kit and the schleicher and schuell isocode stix dna isolation device for isolating nucleic acid. buffer, serum, and whole-blood samples were spiked with bacillus anthracis sterne vegetative cells and yersinia pestis, while water was spiked with b. anthracis s ... | 2004 | 15472363 |
| three-dimensional model of the pore form of anthrax protective antigen. structure and biological implications. | although pore formation by protective antigen (pa) is critical to cell intoxication by anthrax toxin (at), the structure of the pore form of pa (the pa63 pore) has not been determined. hence, in this study, the pa63 pore was modeled using the x-ray structures of monomeric pa and heptameric alpha-hemolysin (alpha-hl) as templates. the pa63 pore model consists of two weakly associated domains, namely the cap and stem domains. the ring-like cap domain has a length of 80 a and an outside diameter of ... | 2004 | 15473701 |
| characterisation of adsorbed anthrax vaccine by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. | the current uk anthrax vaccine is an alum precipitate prepared from static culture filtrate of the avirulent, unencapsulated sterne strain of bacillus anthracis. protective antigen (pa) is regarded as the major immunogen in the vaccine and production conditions are intended to maximize the pa content. however, the precise composition of the vaccine is unknown and there are concerns that the observed side effects of vaccination may be caused by residual enzymatically active toxin components. two- ... | 2004 | 15474715 |
| expression of bacillus anthracis protective antigen in transgenic chloroplasts of tobacco, a non-food/feed crop. | the centers for disease control (cdc) lists bacillus anthracis as a category a agent and estimates the cost of an anthrax attack to exceed us$ 26 billion per 100,000 exposed individuals. concerns regarding anthrax vaccine purity, a requirement for multiple injections, and a limited supply of the protective antigen (pa), underscore the urgent need for an improved vaccine. therefore, the 83 kda immunogenic bacillus anthracis protective antigen was expressed in transgenic tobacco chloroplasts. the ... | 2004 | 15474731 |
| using snps to decode anthrax. | 2004 | 15475316 | |
| the dxdxdg motif for calcium binding: multiple structural contexts and implications for evolution. | calcium ions regulate many cellular processes and have important structural roles in living organisms. despite the great variety of calcium-binding proteins (cabps), many of them contain the same ca(2+)-binding helix-loop-helix structure, referred to as the ef-hand. in the canonical ef-hand, the loop contains three calcium-binding aspartic acid residues, which form the dxdxdg sequence motif, and is flanked by two alpha-helices. recently, other cabps containing the same motif, but lacking one or ... | 2004 | 15476814 |
| intriguing diversity of bacillus anthracis in eastern poland--the molecular echoes of the past outbreaks. | the multiple locus vntrs analysis (mlva) revealed the presence of five genotypes in a group of 10 bacillus anthracis isolates from epidemiologically unrelated cases of bovine-anthrax in eastern poland. eight tested isolates possessed the paga and capb genes indicating the presence of both virulence plasmids, while two isolates revealed only paga and lacked pxo2. the mlva and dna sequence analysis indicated that seven tested isolates represent four novel genotypes. five tested strains revealed a ... | 2004 | 15476971 |
| production and purification of bacillus anthracis protective antigen from escherichia coli. | anthrax is caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, bacillus anthracis. the anthrax toxin consists of three proteins, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor, and edema factor. current vaccines against anthrax use pa as their primary component since it confers protective immunity. in this work, we expressed soluble, recombinant pa in relatively high amounts in the periplasm of e. coli from shake flasks and bioreactors. the pa protein was purified using q-sepharose-hp and hydroxyapati ... | 2004 | 15477093 |
| antibiotics for anthrax: patient requests and physician prescribing practices during the 2001 new york city attacks. | little is known about patient encounters with primary care physicians and prescribing practices during the 2001 us anthrax attacks. | 2004 | 15477436 |
| chloroquine enhances survival in bacillus anthracis intoxication. | the intentional release of anthrax in the united states in 2001 resulted in 11 cases of inhalational disease, with an attendant mortality rate of 45%. current therapeutic options for anthrax are limited; antimicrobials target only replicating organisms, thus allowing bacterial toxins to cause unchecked, devastating physiological derangements in the host. novel approaches that target the cytotoxic effects of anthrax exotoxins are needed. chloroquine (cq), a commonly used antimalarial agent, endow ... | 2004 | 15478072 |
| [changes in fine morphological structures of escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus and spores of bacillus anthracis vaccine strain sti under the action of the disinfectant "veltolen"]. | changes in fine morphological structures of e. coli, s. aureus and spores of b. anthracis vaccine strain sti under the action of the disinfectant "veltolen" manufactured by the closed joint-stock company "velt", were evaluated. when used at concentrations of 0.0025-0.025%, the preparation induced the loosening of the cell wall in all microorganisms under study, the intensive formation of bubbles on the cell wall surface with their subsequent separation from the cell wall and the formation of "ro ... | 2004 | 15481924 |
| the anthrax protective antigen (pa63) bound conformation of a peptide inhibitor of the binding of lethal factor to pa63: as determined by trnoesy nmr and molecular modeling. | anthrax protective antigen (pa) is one of the three proteins produced by the gram positive bacteria bacillus anthracis collectively known as the "anthrax toxin" (ascenzi, p.; visca, p.; ippolito, g.; spallarossa, a.; bolognesi, m.; et al. anthrax toxin: a tripartite lethal combination. febs lett. 2002, 531, 384-388). the role played by pa in anthrax intoxication is to transport the two enzymes lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef) into the cell. collier and co-workers (mourez, m.; kane, r. s. ... | 2004 | 15481973 |
| poisoned food, poisoned uniforms, and anthrax: or, how guerillas die in war. | many people believe that rhodesia, struggling to maintain minority rule in africa, used chemical and biological weapons against african guerilla armies in the liberation war. clothes and food were routinely poisoned, and rhodesian agents, perhaps in concert with global forces of reaction, caused the largest single outbreak of anthrax in modern times. oral interviews with traditional healers and rhodesians' confessional memoirs of the war suggest that deaths by poisoning or disease were not so st ... | 2004 | 15484386 |
| bioterrorism: what level is the threat and are vaccines the answer? | 2004 | 15485326 | |
| the history of woolsorters' disease: a yorkshire beginning with an international future? | woolsorters' disease was a feared industrial disease associated primarily with yorkshire's textile industry of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. early occupational health methods were attempted locally before concerted national efforts produced legislative measures. when its link with anthrax was established, attention in prevention focused upon chemical disinfection methods. together, these factors were instrumental in decreasing the incidence of woolsorters' disease. however, by th ... | 2004 | 15486181 |
| thomas morison legge (1863-1932): the first medical factory inspector. | after a brief career in public health, thomas morison legge was appointed to become the first medical factory inspector, in 1898, and remained in post until his resignation in 1927. during his tenure in office he became the leading authority on lead poisoning and anthrax; he resigned when the government refused to ratify the white lead convention. subsequently he became the first medical adviser to the trades union congress. | 2004 | 15486616 |
| the adenylate cyclase toxins. | cyclic amp is a ubiquitous messenger that integrates many processes of the cell. diverse families of adenylate cyclases and phosphodiesterases stringently regulate the intracellular concentration of camp. any alteration in the cytosolic concentration of camp has a profound effect on the various processes of the cell. disruption of these cellular processes in vivo is often the most critical event in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases for animals and humans. many pathogenic bacteria secrete t ... | 2004 | 15490970 |
| us restrictions limit anthrax networking. | 2004 | 15496891 | |
| communicable-disease surveillance in new jersey. | the dhss and federal agencies have expanded their surveillance efforts to improve existing methods of reporting notifiable communicable diseases and to include additional data sources that might provide a more comprehensive view of disease activity in new jersey. currently, the dhss is evaluating these efforts and recognizes several issues that need to be addressed, including: assessment of the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of surveillance data; validation of surveillance data through c ... | 2004 | 15497734 |
| new jersey state public health laboratory's bioterrorism response activities. | 2004 | 15497736 | |
| bioterrorism and compulsory vaccination: arguments for current vaccines are based on inadequate support for older vaccines. | 2004 | 15499122 | |
| bioterrorism and compulsory vaccination: united states continues vaccinating to keep troops healthy. | 2004 | 15499123 | |
| functional analysis of bacillus anthracis protective antigen by using neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. | protective antigen (pa) is central to the action of the lethal and edema toxins produced by bacillus anthracis. it is the common cell-binding component, mediating the translocation of the enzymatic moieties (lethal factor [lf] and edema factor) into the cytoplasm of the host cell. monoclonal antibodies (mabs) against pa, able to neutralize the activities of the toxins in vitro and in vivo, were screened. two such mabs, named 7.5 and 48.3, were purified and further characterized. mab 7.5 binds to ... | 2004 | 15501759 |
| cytokine response to infection with bacillus anthracis spores. | bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium. the inhalational form of anthrax is the most severe and is associated with rapid progression of the disease and the outcome is frequently fatal. transfer from the respiratory epithelium to regional lymph nodes appears to be an essential early step in the establishment of infection. this transfer is believed to occur by means of carriage within alveolar macrophages following phagocytosis. therefore, ... | 2004 | 15501768 |
| message from the editor. | 2004 | 15236393 | |
| development of evaluation procedures for local exhaust ventilation for united states postal service mail-processing equipment. | researchers from the national institute for occupational safety and health (niosh) have conducted several evaluations of local exhaust ventilation (lev) systems for the united states postal service (usps) since autumn 2001 when (a) terrorist(s) employed the mail system for acts of bioterrorism. as a part of the usps 2002 emergency preparedness plan, the development and installation of lev onto usps mail-processing equipment can reduce future exposures to operators from potentially hazardous cont ... | 2004 | 15238311 |
| rapid anthrax test approved. | 2004 | 15238576 | |
| risk factors for human anthrax among contacts of anthrax-infected livestock in kazakhstan. | a retrospective cohort analysis was conducted in kazakhstan to define modifiable risk factors during seven outbreaks of human anthrax. fifty-three cases and 255 non-ill persons with an epidemiologic link to an infected animal were enrolled. cases were 58% male and had a median age of 35 years (range = 5-71). nearly all cases had cutaneous disease (96%). two patients (4%) were diagnosed with gastrointestinal disease. although all cases had some contact with an infected animal other than consumpti ... | 2004 | 15238688 |
| structures of sortase b from staphylococcus aureus and bacillus anthracis reveal catalytic amino acid triad in the active site. | surface proteins attached by sortases to the cell wall envelope of bacterial pathogens play important roles during infection. sorting and attachment of these proteins is directed by c-terminal signals. sortase b of s. aureus recognizes a motif npqtn, cleaves the polypeptide after the thr residue, and attaches the protein to pentaglycine cross-bridges. sortase b of b. anthracis is thought to recognize the npktg motif, and attaches surface proteins to m-diaminopimelic acid cross-bridges. we have d ... | 2004 | 15242591 |
| crystal structure of a complex between anthrax toxin and its host cell receptor. | anthrax toxin consists of the proteins protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf) and oedema factor (ef). the first step of toxin entry into host cells is the recognition by pa of a receptor on the surface of the target cell. subsequent cleavage of receptor-bound pa enables ef and lf to bind and form a heptameric pa63 pre-pore, which triggers endocytosis. upon acidification of the endosome, pa63 forms a pore that inserts into the membrane and translocates ef and lf into the cytosol. two closely ... | 2004 | 15243628 |
| identification of bacillus anthracis by multiprobe microarray hybridization. | we have developed a rapid assay based on microarray analysis of amplified genetic markers for reliable identification of bacillus anthracis and its discrimination from other closely related bacterial species of the bacillus cereus group. by combining polymerase chain reaction (pcr) amplification of six b. anthracis-specific genes (plasmid-associated genes encoding virulence factors (cyaa, paga, lef, and capa, capb, capc) and one chromosomal marker ba-5449) with analysis of amplicons by microarra ... | 2004 | 15246505 |
| development of an in vitro-based potency assay for anthrax vaccine. | the potency assay currently used to evaluate consistency of manufacture for the anthrax vaccine is contingent upon meeting specified parameters after statistical analysis of the percent survival and time to death of vaccinated guinea pigs after challenge with spores of a virulent strain of bacillus anthracis. during the development of a new anthrax vaccine based upon recombinant protective antigen (rpa) adsorbed to aluminum hydroxide gel (alhydrogel), we found that the serological response of fe ... | 2004 | 15246620 |
| cpg oligonucleotides improve the protective immune response induced by the anthrax vaccination of rhesus macaques. | synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (odn) containing unmethylated cpg motifs act as immune adjuvants, improving the immune response elicited by co-administered vaccines. combining cpg odn with anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava, the licensed human vaccine) increased the speed, magnitude and avidity of the resultant anti-anthrax response. the protective activity of these abs was established by passive transfer to anthrax-challenged mice. the ability of cpg odn to accelerate and magnify the immune response ... | 2004 | 15246624 |
| terrorism-preparedness training for non-clinical hospital workers: tailoring content and presentation to meet workers' needs. | clinicians have been the primary focus of health care worker training in response to the 2001 terrorist and anthrax attacks. however, many nonclinical hospital workers also are critical in providing medical care during any large-scale emergency. we designed a training program, guided by focus groups, to provide them with information to recognize unusual events and to protect themselves. we compared four different training methods: workbook, video, lecture, and a small-group discussion. one hundr ... | 2004 | 15247806 |
| uncertain benefit: the public policy of approving smallpox vaccine research. | without an accurate assessment of the prospect of bioterrorist attack, it is especially challenging to evaluate the protocols for testing smallpox vaccines in the pediatric population. usual regulatory mechanisms cannot shepherd research protocols with benefits that can only be characterized as "uncertain" in the face of more than minimal risk. when a protocol is placed in a government forum for analysis, the public has a unique opportunity to debate the balancing of research risks and benefits ... | 2004 | 15249295 |
| looking at big brothers for clues. | 2004 | 15250878 | |
| industrial radiation processing--working behind the scenes. | 2004 | 15254319 | |
| flow cytometry analysis of germinating bacillus spores, using membrane potential dye. | germination of bacillus anthracis spores is necessary for the transcription of plasmidic genes essential to the infection. assessing germination potential is crucial to predict the risk associated with pathogenic bacillus exposure. the aim of this study was to set up a viability assay based on membrane potential in order to predict the earliest germination event of spores. b. cereus and two strains of b. subtilis were used. the spores were isolated with a sodium bromide gradient. approximately 1 ... | 2004 | 15611861 |
| capsule synthesis by bacillus anthracis is required for dissemination in murine inhalation anthrax. | bacillus anthracis, the agent of anthrax, produces a poly-d-glutamic acid capsule that has been implicated in virulence. many strains missing pxo2 (96 kb), which harbors the capsule biosynthetic operon capbcad, but carrying pxo1 (182 kb) that harbors the anthrax toxin genes, are attenuated in animal models. also, noncapsulated strains are readily phagocytosed by macrophage cell lines, whereas capsulated strains are resistant to phagocytosis. we show that a strain carrying both virulence plasmids ... | 2004 | 15616593 |
| a spontaneous translational fusion of bacillus cereus plcr and papr activates transcription of plcr-dependent genes in bacillus anthracis via binding with a specific palindromic sequence. | transformation of bacillus anthracis with plasmid pute29-plcr-papr carrying the native bacillus cereus plcr-papr gene cluster did not activate expression of b. anthracis hemolysin genes, even though these are expected to be responsive to activation by the global regulator plcr. to further characterize the action of plcr, we examined approximately 3,000 b. anthracis transformants containing pute29-plcr-papr and found a single hemolytic colony. the hemolytic strain contained a plasmid having a spo ... | 2004 | 15385482 |
| safety of anthrax vaccine: an expanded review and evaluation of adverse events reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system (vaers). | to assess the safety of a licensed anthrax vaccine (ava) given to more than 500,000 us military personnel, through review and medical evaluation of adverse events (aes) reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system (vaers). | 2004 | 15386719 |
| case reports of aplastic anemia after vaccine administration. | 2004 | 15389916 | |
| late treatment with a protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody improves hemodynamic function and survival in a lethal toxin-infused rat model of anthrax sepsis. | in animal models, treatment with 5h3, a fully human protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody (pa-mab), improved survival when administered close to the time of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (letx) bolus or live bacterial challenge. however, treatment with pa-mab would be most valuable clinically if it were beneficial even when administered after the onset of shock and lethality due to letx. | 2004 | 15633102 |